Sly Cooper: Betrayal of the Heart
by Emile The Watcher
Summary: Suspended, threatened with dismissal. Carmelita takes fate into her own hands and quits before shes fired. Now, she has to turn to her former prize to help her put her life back together. But not everything is as it seems for the two of them. Sly now has to work with Carmelita, training her to be a part of his crew, while working to have her open up to him again. Read and Review.
1. What Have I Done?

**Sly Cooper: **_Betrayal of the Heart_

**A Fan Fiction by: **_Emile The Watcher_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own anything Sly Cooper, That all belongs to Sony, Sucker Punch Studios and now Sanzaru Games. The only thing I claim credit for is the Story Idea, and any original characters I put into the story. _

_If you like this story and wish to share it with others, please feel free to copy and paste it, or if you want you can ask me and I'll send you a copy of the Doc File, all I ask is that you credit me and Sanzaru where ever it ends up._

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/-/ **Sly Cooper: **_Betrayal of the Heart _/–/ **Chapter 1: **_What have I done? _/-/

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"_Why does it always have to be raining for something like this?"_

I sighed and looked through the windows behind me at the flashing lights, I knew what they meant. The plan had gone off without a hitch, and by now, both the tech savvy Bentley, and the kind hearted Murray would be arrested and behind bars at the most secure prison in the world. Possibly for the rest of their lives. I turned my gaze to the raccoon in front of me. The rain still pounding away on the warehouse windows.

Sly Cooper, Master Thief, was staring out the window, his tail twitching back and forth in agitation at the flashing lights. In his hand was the damning evidence of everything I had done. I was silent as I watched him, these past months have been some of the greatest times of my life, and that made all this, everything I had done to him, the hardest things I have ever done.

He turned to me then, and for once, his eyes were cold and hard. I had only ever seen him use that gaze on the thieves he stole from, to have him turn them on me.

It hurt.

When he spoke it was in a quiet voice. "Why?" the hurt that was buried in his tone was like a stab to my already aching heart.

I blinked the sudden tears out of my eyes and looked away, cursing myself. I was silent for a full minute, when I turned back to him, my eyes were dry, and he was still staring at me, it still hurt. "Its...It's my job Sly, you knew that it would have to happen some day."

I watched as a frown formed on his face, anger tightening up his muscles. He turned around and walked away from me a few steps, he said nothing for a moment. I just watched and waited, waited for his resolve to crack.

I couldn't help but study his figure while he stood there hunched over, dressed in his blue work shirt, his golden belt around his waist holding up his new addition of black slacks. Slung over his back was his backpack that held his paraglider, and around his left leg was the small holster he used to hold items that he pick pocketed.

He turned around suddenly, his voice still quiet, yet to me it sounded like the roaring of a wave about to crush my entire being. "We trusted you! We brought you into our group! I taught you everything I know!" now his voice was starting to rise. "How could you do this to me?!" he paused "To us?! We have something, and you know it!" Sly closed his eyes and glanced away from me scoffing, his next words were soft again. "I should say we _had_ something." he brought his gaze up to mine again, his eyes hard as diamonds still. "Not anymore."

I glanced down at what I held in my paws, suddenly I wasn't sorry, I was angry, furious even, how could he dare talk to _me _like that. I tightened my grip on the pole, watching my knuckles turn white through my fur. I raised my gaze, and my own voice. "How could I?" I asked him, anger sharpening my tone. I took a step forward, closing the distance to us to just a meter. "How could you?!" I paused and felt my anger grow when he had the nerve to look confused. I pointed at him with what I held. "Need I remind you of your stunt not to long ago Ringtail!? I let you into my heart! I told myself that we could finally be together! We shared the same apartment, hell even the same bedroom for a time!" I jabbed him in the chest with the pole "Then you go and run off like it never happened! Right back to your criminal ways!" I jabbed him again. "Do you know how much trouble I got in over that!?"

Sly pushed the pole away from his chest, closing the distance even more between us, until we were standing less then a few inches apart. Up close I could see the hurt that he hid behind the cold eyes. I saw the slight wetness around his fur that told me I wasn't the only one fighting tears right now.

"I do know." he said softly "You have no idea how hard it was for me to do that to you. We were finally able to spend time together, I cherished every moment of it, and I still do." he paused "I watched you for days afterwords, I watched Barkley yell at you again and again for being fooled. Each time you retreated to your office I wanted to run to you and tell you how sorry I was. Ask if there was anything I could do to make it up to you."

I scoffed into his face. "There's only one thing you can do to fix this now Cooper. It starts with you turning around and putting your hands behind you back." I reached behind me to the small holster I kept my cuffs in, but something stopped me from taking them out. Instead, I just stood there and watched him, the pole still in my hand, now held vertically behind me.

We stayed that way for a full minute, and I was glad that Chief Barkley had listened to me when I asked him to keep the teams out of the Warehouse. Sly moved his hand behind me and placed his paw on the pole. I tightened my own grip in response to the gentle tug.

"Give me my cane." his quiet voice echoing into my ears and over my furiously beating heart.

I shook my head slowly. "No Ringtail, this is it. This ends tonight."

Sly frowned again and scoffed stepping back away from me. "You know, at first I wondered why you were here in your old Inspectors outfit. But now I get it, you'll never be able to take it off, you'll never let anybody in. Not really, not your partners, not your chief, not your family," he paused, and his voice dropped in volume even more "Not even me." Each of his soft words like a slap in the face, but the last three really hit home in my heart, I doubt he even realized what I said earlier. His voice was full of dejection, like he knew that there was never going to be a chance for him, for us.

I blinked again as he backed away towards the stairs that led to the side door. "I'm sorry Carmelita. I really am." he glanced out the rain slicked windows at the lights again. The red and blue hues flashing across his face as he closed his eyes. "Not about my lifestyle, I don't regret any of that. I'm sorry for all the time I spent chasing after you, I'm sorry that you'll never let me in." He tilted his head to face me, a small grin playing at his mouth, "Maybe its time I moved on eh? Find some other Inspector to torment?" he sighed and turned to face me, a full grin on his face. "We could have made a great team."

He took a step backwards towards the stairs, and I took one forward. "Don't do it Ringtail." I said softly. He just kept grinning at me, taking another few steps back. "I mean it Sly." I took my own steps forward. "Don't do it." I waited a beat, then two, "Please." he kept going, I waited until he turned around to put a foot on the first step. "We can still be a team."

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me. "Oh? Hows that? Because the only way I see it happening is if you follow me out that door." he jerked his thumb at the side door, void of any flashing lights. I swallowed, knowing that Barkley had _something_ planned to keep Sly from escaping. My heart beat hollowly as my mind shuffled through the possibilities.

I shook my head. "No, come back to Interpol Sly, be my Constable again. We put so many criminals away together, it can be just like that."

Sly chuckled softly "Really? After everything Interpol just went through to try and capture me? You think they'll just let me breeze into the office and tell them that I wanted to be a Constable again." he scoffed as his laughter died out "Yeah, right."

I thought quickly "I'll talk to them again, maybe I can convinc-"

Sly held up a hand. "Carmelita, just stop. Its over, now we all have to live with the consequences." he jumped up touching briefly on the stairway railing before leaping off again and landing next to the door. "You have to deal with me, or future lack there of, and I need to go rescue my friends." He placed his hand on the door knob and turned it, throwing the door open wide and letting in the wind and the rain.

"Sly! No!" I called out as I started for the stairs as well.

He glanced out into the darkness of the storm before he grinned back at me. "See you around, Inspector Fox."

I felt my eyes widen when I saw the green dot appear on his chest. Sly saw my gaze and glanced down at himself.

That was when the loud crack echoed through the air, hidden moments later by the loud thunder. My drawn out scream lasting much longer then either of them

"SLY!"

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/-/**Eleven Months ago, **_Carmelita's Apartment._/-/

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I sat on the edge of my bed, and stared at the empty spot on my wall, glowering, as usual. I thought that maybe taking a shower would help, but now that I was dry and dressed with my dark blue hair hanging down my back, my thoughts turned to the last week.

It had only been two days since I had left Interpol. I may have left under my own steam, but I knew that I would have been fired today if I hadn't already quit. It was bad enough after Sly had vanished from my apartment, only to have his calling card reappear on my desk with something else he had stolen.

But when Barkley had found out, my suspension was well and truly deserved. Sly had duped me, and I had fallen for it hook line and sinker.

I still didn't think firing me would have been fair though. I glanced at the memo one of my fellow officers had sent me, the paper still laying on my night stand.

_'Barkley is going to fire you on Monday. He says he has no choice, the pressure from his own bosses is to much. You have until then to find Cooper and bring him in. Good luck. -K'_

I glanced back at the empty spot on my wall. I had spent the next few days after I had woken to find the note on my apartment door trying to track down the double crossing thief, but no matter what leads I chased down, nothing came up.

After my last lead dried up, I decided to say damn it all and leave on my own terms.

_The elevator doors slid open in front of me, and I stared out into the small gathering of desks on either side. Each one occupied with an officer doing their duty and tracking down criminals. Something I should have been doing these past few weeks, instead, I spent the past few days chasing after Cooper. I thought about what a waste of time that had turned out to be._

_I shook my head slightly as if to clear it and marched through the room, my boots clicking on the hardwood floor and drawing the attention of those that I passed. I walked straight to the back of the office and glanced to the right at my door, locked and my own key taken from me, the red door seemed to mock me. I frowned and held my anger close to me as I turned the knob of Chief Barkley's door and stormed in._

_He was on the phone when I entered and stopped before his desk. His mouth dropped open slightly and we stared at each other for a full minute. Eventually he spoke, not to me, but to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "I'm going to have to call you back, something just came up here." he paused, listening to the other end of the conversation. "No, I'll call you. Okay, bye." he hung up the corded phone and put his elbows on his desk, cradling his head in his paws, studying me. He was silent for another moment, before he leaned back in his chair, his arms now folded behind his head. "Something I can help you with Ms. Fox?"_

_I narrowed my eyes when he didn't use my title. It was then that I knew he had already made up his mind. I reached for my hip and he leaned forward in his chair, worried for a moment. I drew my shock pistol and slammed it down on his desk, forcing the battery to eject from the force of the impact. He stared at the pistol for a moment before he raised his gaze to my face. I leaned down and reached behind my neck for the clasp._

"_I! Quit!" I said softly, but with force, the clasp coming undone underneath my nimble digits and my collar and badge falling to land on top of the shock pistol on his desk. He stared at it, his face loose and disbelief clear in his expression. Here I was, a forth generation Inspector, and I was turning in my badge and gun like they meant nothing._

_Truth was, it hurt, and it was hard. But I managed it, I turned around and stormed out of his office, the usually busy officers were all standing around, watching me as I walked, a few of them shook their heads sadly, others gave me a soft wave. I passed my old partner, a blond Vixen and nodded at her. "Good luck." I said as I went by. "You'll need it." I reached the elevator right as it opened and discharged a few officers. I shouldered them out of the way and hit the switch to close the door with my fist, cracking the plastic. When I was alone in the elevator I let my breath out and sagged against the wall. I couldn't believe what I had just done, Dios Mio, what were my parents going to say?_

I blinked at the empty rack where my shock pistol usually sat, and I sighed. I had no idea how I was going to afford this apartment. My pay at Interpol had been, nice, to say the least. Without it, there was no way I would be able to afford rent. I reached up to touch my neck where my badge usually rested, feeling like I was missing part of myself with out it.

Needless to say, it wasn't the best time to hear my window slide open.

I didn't even turn around. "Cooper, I swear, if you come in here, I'll beat you bloody."

Sly said nothing, so I glanced over my shoulder and watched him, one foot on my window frame, the other still out on the fire escape. He was dressed in a black shirt and pants, doubtlessly to blend in with the darkness outside. His mask was off and hanging from his paw, and his black cap was hanging off his belt. His face was one of alertness as we stared at each other.

Eventually I turned my gaze back to the wall and sighed. A few moments later the window closed, and my ears twitched as I heard somebody breathing gently. I felt my mattress sink softly under his weight as he sat down near me. I still said nothing, we stayed that way for a few minutes before I felt his hand on my shoulder. I hugged my body tightly, shrinking from his touch, and I felt his paw withdraw.

"Carmelita, I-"

"Save it Cooper, you've done enough."

I felt him stand up and I glanced away when he stepped in front of me. He knelt down and gently took my muzzle in his paws, softly bringing my gaze to his own. We stared at each other for a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry. I never wanted something like this to happen."

I scoffed "Are you following me or something?"

Sly shook his head "No, I had to leave town for a few weeks and I asked Bentley to keep an eye on you." he glanced away "I came back as soon as I heard." he brought his gaze up to mine once more. "Why did you do it?"

I jerked my muzzle free of his grip. "Because of you!" I said hotly, standing up and walking away from him. He looked on confused so I continued "Because of that little amnesia stunt you pulled, I was suspended, and thanks to pressure from the people who are in charge of my boss, if I didn't bring you in by today I would have been fired no matter what. Never mind my nearly spotless capture record. So I quit before they could fire me, and left with my head held high."

Sly was silent as he stood up and walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder again, I glared at him. "I really can't tell you how sorry I am Carmelita. I never, _ever _wanted anything like this to happen." he grinned softly at me. "More then half the reasons I pull my heists are because I know its an excuse to see you."

I pushed him away suddenly, sending him stumbling into the wall. I stalked forward and pinned him there with my hands. "If you wanted to spend time with me, why did you leave?!"

Sly glanced down "I had to take care of something." he said softly.

I snorted and backed away, then I slugged him in the chest. He coughed and groaned as he dropped to his knees. "Dios Mio, that felt _good_!" I said out loud as I turned and walked toward my door.

Sly looked up at me, wincing "I'm glad...I think." his voice was light as he tried to recover his breath. I glanced down at him before shaking my head with a frown and walking out of my room. I made my way through my apartment until I reached my kitchen, there I rummaged through my cupboards until I found what I was looking for.

I was sprinkling cinnamon into my hot chocolate when Sly walked out of the hallway that led to my room. "You spice your-" he paused and inhaled "Hot chocolate, with cinnamon?" I narrowed my eyes at him over my mug as I took a sip and sat down at my table. Normally coffee is my vice, but with it being so late, I knew drinking any now would mean I never got any sleep. Hot chocolate wasn't that much better, but still, I needed something.

Sly walked over to me, an arm still held gingerly to his chest. He stopped on the other side of the table. "Can I have some?" he asked.

I stared at him as I took another long sip. I set the mug down on the table and wrapped my paws around it. "Help yourself. You know where everything is at."

Sly walked around the table and I listened to the various sounds as he found the instant mix and set about making it. I stared straight ahead, refusing to watch him. After a few minutes he placed a paw on the chair next to me and made to pull it out. I let a low growl loose from deep in my throat, and he removed his paw. Instead he walked around and sat down across from me. I turned my head to the right to stare at a painting on the wall.

I heard him sigh then take a sip of his own drink. "So...All that time, I never saw you spice your hot chocolate with cinnamon."

I lifted the edge of my lips in a small snarl at him. "Depends on my mood, can you guess what I'm feeling right now?"

Sky sighed and glanced down at his mug, running his fingers over the cup like it was a magic lamp that could give him all the answers. When he raised his gaze, his eyes were sad and he stared at me for a moment before he started talking. "Look, I can apologize all I want. But we both know that a simple apology won't fix this. I understand that I'm the last person in the world you want to see right now, and I can't blame you for that." he paused. "But, I won't stop caring about you Carmelita, I can't. I'll leave you alone, just know one thing." he reached into a pocket on his pants and pulled out a small headset, sitting it on the table between us. "I'm here for you, and if you ever need a place to stay, you just need to call me." he pointed at the headset. "That's an untraceable link to me that Bentley set up, if you ever use it, I'll drop whatever I'm doing and come running. I promise you that."

I stared at him, saying nothing. After a few minutes he sighed and stood up, taking his mug in his hands as he did so. He walked around me and I heard him dump the remainder of his drink down the sink. Then he walked past me and towards the hallway, he stopped when he reached my bedroom door. "Just think about it." was all he said before he entered my room.

I sat at the table until my hot chocolate couldn't even be called luke warm before I stood up and dumped the rest of the drink down the sink. I headed for my room and paused when I saw the dozen roses sitting on the bedspread, and next to it, one of his calling cards. I frowned as I grabbed the roses and threw them in the trash, then I ripped the card into pieces before I shut off the light and fell onto my bed still fully dressed, waiting for sleep.

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Three weeks later found me sitting at my table again, this time with papers spread out in front of me. Most of them were bills, a few detailed my shrinking bank account. I sighed as I looked at the bill for my apartments rent, comparing it to how much I had left. Another late night of trying to balance my bank account and I was still no closer to finding another job. I growled in frustration as I swept a few of the bills to the floor. My ears perked at the solid sounding thud that greeted me. I leaned down to look underneath my table and that was when I saw the headset that Sly had left when he was last here.

I had left it on the table and it had eventually vanished under my growing pile of bills. I reached out a hand to pick it up slowly. I pulled back slightly just before I grabbed it, almost as if it was going to bite me. Was I really thinking of calling Cooper for help?

I picked up the headset and set it on the table in front of me. I stared at the headset for a good while before I liked my lips and picked it up again, fitting it over my ear, I pulled the microphone down over my mouth and felt for a power button. Finding nothing I decided to just try talking.

"Uh...Sly...?"

I waited a moment and when no answer came I sighed in defeat, I reached for the headset to pull it off when I heard his voice in my ear. "Carmelita. What can I do for you?"

I frowned and glanced in the mirror at myself. I couldn't believe what I was about to say. If I did this, there would be no turning back. There was no way Interpol would ever hire me back, not to mention if I thought about joining any other law enforcement position. But I also knew that if I didn't do that, it was quite possible that I would end up on the street.

"Carmelita?"

His voice pulled me back from my thoughts. My own voice was quiet "You said if I ever needed a place to stay..." I trailed off, unable to finish the words.

His voice was quick to respond in my ear. "Give me ten minutes, then I'll be over."

There was a click and I knew he had ended the call on his end. I pulled the headset off my head and looked again into the mirror. "What have I done?"

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_**Well, hello there, so I was reading A Thief is Born, by Kitty Petro, when I had this idea pop into my head. A few hours later, I had this chapter typed out. So, this is my first attempt at anything Sly Cooper, as such this chapter is kind of a test. I think it came out pretty good, but I'm not very sure, so if I don't get some feedback, don't expect to see the story continue.**_

_**So do me a favor, and click that little review button below and tell me what you thought of it. If you loved it let me know, if you spotted something off, also let me know. I can't improve if I don't get my mistakes pointed out to me. If you hated it...well, I guess you can flame it, but most likely I'll just ignore you.**_

_**I wrote this in Carmelita's point of view just because I thought that would give the first chapter more pop. I don't think I'll keep the rest of the story this way, unless its requested. Otherwise the next chapter is going to pick up with Sly and the Gang.**_

_**Edit 3-03-13- Wow, that got quite a bit of feedback in 24 hours. 9 reviews, each asking to continue. Right, that is good enough for me. Consider it done! For all of you reading this and liking it, head over to my profile page and hit up my facebook link there. I update that with what I'm currently working on, plus if you have any questions you can hit me up there. Or PM me, either works.**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

_**Peace,**_

_**- Emile**_


	2. Dancing with the Devil

_**Well...That was a bit more feedback then I expected. Truly surprised me. Thank you for all the reviews, and all the alerts and the faves. Hopefully I can keep you all with me in this tale I'm weaving. With that, I'll leave you with...**_

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/-/ **Sly Cooper: **_Betrayal of the Heart_ /-/ **Chapter 2: **_Dancing with the Devil _/-/

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Carmelita placed the headset down on the table, her last thought still running through her head. She glanced away from the mirror and down at herself. Wondering if she should change her clothes. She immediately cursed herself for thinking along those lines. If Sly didn't like how she looked, well...too bad.

She stood up and stretched lightly, moving to another mirror in her living room that was full length and allowed her to take in her full frame. Her long dark blue hair was loose and flowed over her shoulders in a cascading waterfall of indigo blue. She was dressed in a loose black t-shirt that ran down to touch on the brown shorts she wore, the color matching her fur and almost blending in. She currently didn't have any boots on, but she had on long white socks anyway that she had been padding around her apartment all day in.

Carmelita was still staring at the mirror ten minutes later when she heard a car door close down on the street. Startled from her thoughts she walked over to the window and leaned out to look down. Her gaze quickly found a new car parked across the street, a compact pitch black Jaguar. She frowned at the car before pulling herself back into her apartment. She kept her gaze to the roof tops, watching for his familiar shadow. She was so focused on the skyline that she jumped slightly when somebody knocked on her door.

She walked quickly to the door, smoothing down her fur as she looked through the peephole. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Sly Cooper standing on the other side of the door. She undid her dead bolt and pulled open the door, crossing her arms and frowning as she leaned on the door frame.

Sly was dressed in dark blue polo, tucked into dark slacks that was bound tight around his waist with a white belt of all things. His mask was nowhere to be seen, and he had slicked his hair down so that it was laying flat against his head.

Sly just smiled at her frown. "Ah, why the long face Carmelita? You called me after all."

Carmelita glanced away from Sly before she turned and walked back into her apartment, Sly following her in. She walked over and sat down at the table again, Sly follow her over and took a quick glance at all the bills that were spread out in front of her. He sat down on the edge of the table and took her muzzle gently in his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. "I can't help if you don't talk to me."

Carmelita closed her eyes and took a deep breathing before swallowing her pride. "I need your help Ringtail. I'm going to be kicked out soon if I don't find a job to earn some money. Not to mention I have no idea what I'm going to do about food or drink or even basic things lik-"

Sly shrugged "If you need money, its no problem, I can-"

Carmelita slashed her hand through the air above the table "I'm not taking any of your stolen thief money Cooper. I don't want that type of help."

Sly blinked and canted his head, confused "Then, how can I help? I mean if you're talking about getting evicted from your apartment, the only other thing I can think of is staying with me."

Carmelita was quiet, staring at the table in front of her.

"Oh." he said softly as he moved off the table and sat down on the chair next to her, glad when she didn't growl at him this time. He thought for a moment. "You don't want any of my 'thief' money as you put it, but you wouldn't mind living with me and the gang? Isn't that a little..." Sly trailed off, waving his hand through the air as he thought.

"I know Cooper, I know it sounds contradictory. But, if I live with you, and try to contribute in some way, its different then just holding out my hand and asking for stolen money." Carmelita frowned "Even if it irks me to be helping you."

Sly grinned "Carmelita, I don't think there is anything in the whole world that doesn't irk you."

Carmelita glanced over at him. "Catching criminals. That doesn't irk me, that feels right."

Sly nodded his head with a small chuckle "You have a point there, of course that goes for me too. The catching criminals part anyway."

Carmelita sighed and leaned back in her chair "If only I could have caught you, I wouldn't be in this mess."

She glanced at Sly when he took her paw gently in his own. "You did catch me Carmelita, you caught my heart the very first time I laid eyes on you."

Carmelita jerked her paw out of his with a groan. "Not now Cooper, I don't want to go down that road right now."

Sly frowned "What road?"

Carmelita lifted her gaze to the ceiling "You're flirty talk and all that. If we start that now, I'll start yelling at you for leaving again, and I'll just end up angry at you, and, and..." she sighed, bringing her view back to the table. "I just am not up for that tonight, I'm too drained."

She watched from the corner of her eye as Sly got up from his chair and moved around behind her. She felt him tentatively put his paw on her shoulders, and when she didn't protest, he started working his fingers into her muscles of her shoulders.

"Geez, you're so tight back here Carmelita. Has this whole situation gotten you the stressed out?"

Carmelita sighed as she felt her muscles loosen from his quick fingers. She leaned forward in her chair to give him easier access to her back as she started talking "Its not the stress of getting kicked out of my apartment that has me...ah..." she trailed off for a moment as Sly found a really tight group of muscles and worked his fingers in deep. She continued a moment later, her voice much more relaxed then before. "...Stressed out...its having to call you for help."

Sly paused and pulled his hands from her back and she had to fight ever instinct in her body not to groan in frustration or tell him to keep going. "Do you really hate me that much Carmelita?" his voice was quiet, and hurt.

Carmelita sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, this was not how she wanted her night to go so far. "I didn't mean it _that_ way Ringtail."

Sly walked over to the counter and sat down on the counter, his feet pressed against the cabinet below him. "Oh, how did you mean it then Carmelita?"

Carmelita turned about in her chair, tucking her legs around the back and laying an arm across the top to rest her head on. "I meant asking for help at all Cooper." She met his eyes "It's not something I do easily." she paused again "Especially when the only one I can ask for help is a wanted Master Thief." Her eyes hardened slightly "A Master Thief who has lied to me countless times, including one massive lie just so that he could live in my apartment with me."

Sly glanced away from her accusing glare, it wasn't long before he brought his gaze up to hers again. "A Master Thief who, although it breaks pretty much every cardinal rule for thieves out there. Is deeply in love with an Ex-Interpol officer." he paused like she did "And even though it went against his entire nature, a Master Thief who gave up everything about his thieving ways so that he could actually live with the girl he loves." he waited a moment. "I've never lied about loving you Carmelita. Never once."

Carmelita held up her free hand "Cooper, just stop. This is what I was talking about before. I'm not in the mood for it."

Sly rolled his eyes "Very well my dear. So, what do you propose as the solution to your current predicament?"

Carmelita stared at Sly for a full minute. "If you have space, moving in with you."

Sly chuckled softly "Oh we have space Carm. Don't you fret about that."

Carmelita narrowed her eyes at Sly. "Don't laugh at me Cooper, I can still beat you into the dirt."

This caused Sly to go from chuckles to full laughs, at least until Carmelita kept glaring at him. His laughed died out to the chuckles he started with, then that he ended with a rough cough. "Right...I have no doubt that you could. But lets not get into a fist fight on the day we decide to start dating again."

Carmelita turned around in her seat, facing back towards the table. "I never said anything about dating you again Cooper."

Sly slid off the counter and turned towards Carmelita's stove. "I dunno how I feel about that Ms. Fox, I'm a proper gentlemen you know, I feel like its only proper for us to share living arrangements if we're dating."

Carmelita sighed as she heard Sly take a pot and fill it with water before dropping it on the hot coils of her stove. "Do I have any choice in the matter?" she said, glancing over her shoulder at Sly, her face half hidden by her loose hair.

Sly glanced at her and smiled at the look she was giving him through her hair. He didn't dare mention how beautiful it made her look to him. Instead he leaned back against the counter and tapped his chin as if deep in thought. After a moment he grinned at her "Nope, doesn't look like it."

Carmelita rolled her eyes as she turned back to the table. "What are you making anyway?"

Sly turned back to the stove as the pot started to whistle. "Seems a little late for hot chocolate or coffee, so I figured some tea might help." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of tea bags and placed them in a few mugs that were out by the sink. He then took the pot and quickly poured the steaming water into the mugs and let the tea bags seep their flavor into the water.

He brought the cups back to the table and took a seat across from Carmelita, sliding a mug towards her. "So, how are we going to get all your stuff out? I assume we can just load some stuff into that near little car of yours."

Carmelita shook her head as she grabbed the warm mug and held it for a moment. "Can't. Sold the car after I quit to pay the rent for this month."

Sly winced "Ouch, sorry to hear that. I know how much you loved the car."

Carmelita took a cautious sniff of the cup in front of her. "Yeah...What's in this tea? It smells, not...bad, but odd, in a good way."

Sly laughed softly "Dunno, you'll have to ask Bentley, hes the one who made them."

Carmelita raised an eyebrow as she brought the mug to muzzle. "Bentley? The turtle? He made these?"

Sly nodded, taking a sip of his own tea. "He's a turtle of many talents, at least according to Penelope."

Carmelita took a cautious sip of the tea in her mug and sighed softly as she felt the warm liquid move down her throat and start to warm her from the inside out. "Well, you'll have to pass on my compliments, this tea is delicious." Carmelita paused as she took another sip. "Penelope, that's the mouse that your gang picked up for your little romp on Kaine Island right?"

Sly flinched slightly, his mind drifting back to how close he had come to being monster chow. "Yeah, that's her. After all of that, and well, when I moved in with you. She and Bentley hit it off really well."

Carmelita frowned, "When you lied to me you mean."

Sly rubbed the back of his head. "Yea, that." he set his mug down and ran his gaze over everything in Carmelita's kitchen before returning his gaze to the vixen. She was still frowning at him and Sly sighed softly and glanced down at his mug, running his fingers along the side. "You know, when ever you stare at me like that, it just makes me want to apologize again." Sly brought his gaze back to her eyes. "So, since you want to avoid that, I suggest you stop looking at me like that, or I'll be forced to beg your forgiveness again, and again, and again, until you accept." Sly finished his sentence with a tilt of his head and small grin.

After a moment Carmelita snorted softly and against her better judgment smiled softly while she shook her head slowly. "Your a goof Cooper."

Sly looked affronted "A goof?! I'm insulted at such a claim." he leaned across the table and whispered in a soft voice. "No...I'm a romantic. As you no doubt remember."

Carmelita felt warmth in her cheeks as she blushed with a coy smile, she did indeed remember. Sly sat up straight in his chair with a grin. "There we go, there's that beautiful little smile of yours."

Carmelita frowned when she realized she was smiling, but before she could respond Sly continued "So, What exactly do you want to bring with you?"

Carmelita blinked at the sudden change of topics. "Uh...Well, I'll need my clothes of course, and my-"

Sly cut her off with an airy wave of his hand "I'm not talking about that stuff Carm. I mean personal things that you've collected over the years." he lifted the mug he held. "Any dishes or anything like that?"

Carmelita leaned back in her chair "What, you don't have dishes at your place?"

Sly grinned "Of course we do, but we're always looking to expand our collection."

Carmelita glanced away from Sly as she thought. "Well, I suppose there are a _few _things."

Sly slid his chair back and stood up with a clap of his hands. "Excellent, let me run down to my car, I've got a few boxes there that we can use to pack it all up."

Carmelita stood as well and eyed Sly with suspicion. "You brought moving boxes?"

Sly shrugged with another grin. "Sure, you never know when you might need to box something up to keep it hidden away from prying eyes."

Carmelita stared at him for a moment. "Okay...Go get them then."

Sly bowed deeply, his noes almost touching the floor. "As you wish, my queen."

Carmelita raised her eye brows as Sly backed away with a grin. She followed him as he kept backing away until he reached her door which he opened and vanished through without ever breaking eye contact with her.

He returned just a few minutes later with several small boxes folded up under his arm. He glanced around the empty entrance to Carmelita's apartment as he unfolded one of the boxes and set it on the ground. "Carmelita?" he called out as he worked on assembling another box, locking the flaps together so things wouldn't fall out.

"In my bedroom." her soft voice called out from the hallway.

Sly nodded and grabbed another collapsed box, while balancing an assembled box in one hand, he worked his way down the hallway to Carmelita's room. As he walked in he found Carmelita sitting cross legged on her bed, staring at a small wooden box sitting in her lap. Protective wrapping laid on the bed spread next to her, allowing the decorated box to still shine like new.

"Carmelita?" Sly asked cautiously, as he stepped slowly into the room, something about the way she was staring at the box worrying him.

She glanced up at him then, and Sly saw the tears in her eyes. He quickly set down his boxes and walked over to Carmelita, sitting down on the bed next to her. Not touching, but close enough to offer support. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Carmelita had gone back to starting at the box and Sly watched as a tear dropped off her muzzle to dampen her shorts. She said nothing, just sniffed slightly and continued to stare at the box.

Sly tried again. "Carm, what's wrong?"

Carmelita glanced at Sly before running a finger across the top of the brown box. Inscribed into the lid of the box was a golden five point star with the name 'Fox' carved into the wood with graceful flowing letters, along the edge next to the clasp the kept it closed. Around each of the points of the star, somebody had drawn beautiful Spanish bluebell flowers, each stem hanging off the point of the star to point the bell shaped flowers towards one of the edges of the box.

Sly took in the design of the box and the name inscribed into the wood. He canted his head to look at her from the corner of his eye. "What's in the box Carm? What's in there that has you so upset?"

Carmelita flicked her thumb across the lock and catch snapped open on its well oiled springs. Taking the lid in a two handed grip and cautiously lifting it up, she revealed to Sly what the box contained.

Inside the box sitting on a pillow of dark blue satin, sat a sleek black shock pistol, a gold star on it side. The gun had a reflective sheen to it, as if had been polished repeatedly. Sly saw his own face reflected along the barrel while Carmelita's was bounced back from the grip of the weapon. Sly ran his eyes over the pistol and he noticed that right along the bottom side of the grip of the weapon the name "Carlos Fox" was carved into the base right next to the empty battery slot.

Sly turned his gaze to her when she spoke in a soft voice. "It was my fathers. Given to us after..."

Sly glanced down at the ground "What happened?" he asked, his voice just as soft as hers.

Carmelita wiped her eyes gently, she would not cry anymore in front of Cooper! "He was on a patrol, going after some guy involved in a horrible murder, and they got the drop on him. My mother and I were out on a walk that night when we heard the gun shot. My mother and I ran towards the sound to see if there was somebody injured, and..." Carmelita trailed off and Sly slipped a hand into hers. He felt her give his hand a quick squeeze before she continued. "...There he was, just laying there in a growing pool of red. I don't think I really understood then what was happening. But my mother did, she ran over to dad, and tried to stop the bleeding. She tired to call the police, but her phone wasn't working." Carmelita paused again "So, she had me put pressure on the wound while she ran off to get help." Carmelita closed her eyes and slipped her hand out Sly's paw as she turned her head away from him. "I was holding him when he died Sly. He whispered that he loved me, right before...he just stopped breathing...My mother came back with help a few minutes later. I don't remember much after that, Mother always told me that it was my brains way or protecting me." Carmelita closed the lid of the box without looking at it. "I wish I couldn't remember that. I had thought that I had finally moved on, then I found this." she gestured at the box with her hand. She made to draw her hand back but stopped when she felt Sly's warm paw close around it again.

She tried to pull her paw free again, but Sly tightened his grip. "Carmelita..." he started softly "You can't keep that bottled up. It's not healthy." Carmelita said nothing, so Sly continued. "Please, trust me on this, something like that? It needs to be shared, its the only way to heal it." he paused "Let me in, let me help you." Carmelita gave another tug on her paw, but Sly still held it locked in his own. He tugged softly as her paw and she glanced back over at Sly, still sitting on the bed next to her, his gaze full of worry. "I...I can't Sly...Not after what you did."

Sly bowed his head, hurt written across his face. "I suppose I can't blame you for that." he paused. "I hope that I can repair that bond someday Carmelita, I love you too much to give up on you this easily. But I will give you space for now." Sly kissed the paw he held before he stood up and let her paw drop gently. "I'll be in your living room when you're ready." he said softly as he walked out the doorway, leaving Carmelita to her memories.

She watched him go and as soon as she was sure he had left she blinked and let the tears fall.

Sly was just starting to box up some of the stuff from her living room, when Carmelita came out of her room, looking much like herself. She glanced briefly at Sly before she walked over to the kitchen and got a glass of water. Sly said nothing as she drank, and she walked over to him and paused behind him as he wrapped a fragile picture in paper to help protect it.

"Thanks Ringtail, for understanding." she said softly.

Sly smiled into the box. "Not a problem, everybody needs to be left alone sometimes." he turned to gaze up at her. "So, what all needs to be packed?"

An hour later found Sly and Carmelita stacking the last of her boxes against the wall next to the door. Carmelita wiped her forehead and glanced around at her now empty apartment. "It feels so weird."

Sly glanced over at her. "Isn't this how it looked when you first started living here?"

She nodded "Si, but, that was a long time ago, and it feels...odd...to be leaving it." she stifled a yawn as she finished her sentence.

Sly glanced around at the empty floor space and a grin crept across his muzzle. Carmelita saw it out of the corner of her eye and turned to face him. "What?"

Sly just turned around and reached for the small boombox that didn't fit in any of the boxes that Sly had brought. He double checked the CD that he put in there earlier before hitting the play button and turning back to Carmelita as tango music started to play softly. Carmelita raised an eyebrow at Sly as he held a hand out to her. "May I have this dance Senorita?"

Carmelita fought the urge to yawn as she spoke. "You're kidding right? Here? With you?"

Sly shook his head. "No, I'm not kidding, and yes here, with your furniture against the wall and stacked up. We've got enough room. As for with me, well two things, who else would you dance with right now? Second, lets just say this is one of the conditions of you coming to live with me."

Carmelita sighed heavily. "Fine." she said roughly as she reached out and took his hand. She gasped softly as he pulled her too him, his free hand drifting down to her hip as he led them into the center of the room. He waited for the next beat in the song before he started leading her around the room in a flowing tango. It wasn't long before Carmelita lost herself to the dance, gliding around her apartment with Sly while the music flowed through the background.

Eventually though, she yawned again, and as if by magic, the tango music ended and a slow and gentle song started. Sly held her close to his body while he turned them in a slow circle in the middle of her living room. Carmelita blinked and found herself staring at Sly's eyes.

"Did you enjoy the dance?" he asked softly.

Carmelita yawned again, and thought about being crass, but instead, she just leaned her head forward and snuggled her muzzle into the side of his neck. A moment later she whispered quietly as Sly stopped moving. "Yes, I enjoyed it Ringtail...even if it felt like I was dancing with the devil..."

Sly snorted softly "Me, corrupt your soul?" he paused and grinned "Perish the thought."

But Carmelita was already fast asleep in his arms, and Sly smiled fully as he held her against him. He moved them both over to the couch and laid her down gently on the cushions there. He stared at Carmelita with a silly smile still on his face, he was just considering laying down next to her when he heard a voice in his ear.

"_Sly, are you there?"_

Sly brought his hand to his ear. "Yeah Bentley, I'm here."

"_According to my calculations from when you sent the alert. Carmelita should be fast asleep, right?"_

Sly nodded absentmindedly as he watched Carmelita breath deeply in her sleep. "Yeah, your tea worked like a charm Bentley, she's out cold. You really need to show my how you make your sleeping stuff someday."

"_No way Sly, no telling what trouble you would get into with it."_

Sly chuckled softly "True. Anyway, how long should she be out?"

"_A few hours easily, but considering how late it is, the drug should also have sent her into normal REM sleep."_

Sly nodded again "Which means?"

Bentley sigh crackled as it came through the speakers. _"It means that even after the drug is out of her system, as long as nothing disturbs her too much, she should stay asleep until morning."_

Sly pulled out the small phone in his pocket, checking the time. "It's 2:30 am Bentley."

"_Fine! Mid-Afternoon then! Look, are we ready for Phase 2?"_

Sly turned back towards the entrance of the apartment and the stack of boxes. "Yea Bentley, we're set here. I've got all the boxes stacked by the door, Murray should be able to get them loaded easily into the van. How did things go on your end?"

"_I've set up a call forwarding system through several off site servers and even through some that are out of the country. If anybody tries to call her old number, she'll still get the call, and it should be almost untraceable. I've also set up a delayed email to send to her land lord telling her that shes moving out, I even transferred a bonus to the land lords account to apologize for the sudden leave." _Bentley paused _"I think we should be ready here, I've got the room set up as close as I could to the photos you took last time you were there. You just need to get her here and in the bed before she wakes up."_

Sly turned back to Carmelita "Can do bud. I'll see you in a bit."

"_Hey Sly?"_

Sly had just grabbed Carmelita and was carrying her in his arms, his voice was a little strained as he spoke up. "Yeah bud?"

"_How did you know she would call you, and that she would want to move in with us?"_

Sly grinned as he worked his way out the doorway, catching the door with his foot so that it closed behind him. "Call it instinct Bentley. I'm glad it took her a few weeks though, took that long just to convince you on it."

"_Yeah, I'm still not fully convinced. I stand by what I told you when you first came to me with this crazy idea of yours. This is going to end badly, Ex-Interpol or not, Carmelita is not going to be happy."_

"It'll all be worth it Bentley, I promise." Sly spoke as he pressed a button on the small fob in his hand and the passenger door to his car slid up and into the air.

"_Uh-Huh, just...be careful Sly."_

Sly lowered Carmelita into the passenger seat and buckled her up, closing the door softly before moving around to the drivers side. "Please Bentley, I'm always careful." Sly grinned as he slid down into the Jaguar and pulled his door down, starting the car with the key. Normally it would have roared to life, but since the car belong to a Master Thief, the car just hummed to life, thanks to some modifications by Murray. "Look, I'm going to focus on driving now, I'll see you soon Bud."

"_Alright Sly, see you soon."_

* * *

_**Right, go ahead and click the little review button, feedback is what will keep this story going, so if you didn't like something let me know, it you enjoyed it, let me know. The more feedback I get, the more inspired I get to write.**_

_**I know I said I was going to start this chapter from the Cooper Gangs point of view, but, eh, it just worked better this way for me. I'll be jumping back into Carmelita's POV for the next chapter as it was requested by a reader. I'm honestly excited for that, I had a lot of fun writing the first chapter that way. It's not a way I normally write, so its a neat bit of practice for me.**_

_**Well, I think that its...Oh wait, duh, GUEST REVIEWS!**_

_**SnowyDusk: It is a common Idea, and I hope to add my own little flair to it as the story progresses. Thanks for the Review!**_

_**Miriam: Exactly, and just wait until she wakes up at the start of the next chapter...oh I'm going to have fun with that.**_

_**Okay, last thing, I have a link on my profile page to my facebook account, go there and like my page if you want to stay up to date on what I'm working on.  
**_

_**Till next time,**_

_**Peace,**_

_**- Emile**_


	3. How Could You?

_**Right-O! So, Good news here at the top, bad news stuff at the bottom. Good news? Its a fellow authors birthday today, but not just any author, he's one of the ones that inspired me to start writing Sly Cooper Fiction, so if it wasn't for him, this story wouldn't exist.**_

_**You wanna know how you can thank him? Simple, hes trying to get a real book published, head over to his author page here at FF net, his pen name is Kit-Karamak. He has a link to a facebook page there, once there, click the like button and share his page. Help him get the attention he deserves.**_

_**There is also another reason for doing this, he has written what is arguably one of the best Sly Cooper stories on this site, I call it the Dawn of Progeny series, and although he finished the set of stories he was working on, he ended it with one of those cliffhangers that while wrapping everything up, also just left you wanting more. So, I figure, if we get him enough likes and he gets published he can get back to fan fiction and write a sequel! You see, we all benefit! By the way, it you haven't read his Sly Cooper stories or his original work, you are missing out, you should go do that right after you read the chapter.**_

_**Anyway, Happy Birthday to Kit, this chapter update is dedicated to him.**_

_**Edit 6-11-13 Below**_

* * *

/-/ **Sly Cooper: **_Betrayal of the Heart _/-/ **Chapter 3: **_How Could You? _/-/

* * *

_I closed the door with my foot as I walked into my apartment and glanced around once before sighing and dropping the files in my hand on the side table next to the entrance. I opened the folder and flipped through the files before selecting one and placing it against the pin board above the table. I reached for one of the pins and pushed it through the mugshot picture._

_I grinned and spoke to myself. "You put up a nice chase Ra. But the bank tonight was your last." I took a red marker and put a big crimson x across the photo. I smiled and ran my eyes over the board, pausing on each picture with an x. Eventually my eyes reached the final one and my frown slipped for a moment as I reached out and ran a finger across the picture._

"_You know, I still don't like my picture being on your criminal board."_

_I glanced over my shoulder at the raccoon who was leaning around the corner to the hallway. "Constable Cooper. You will stay on that board until I forgive you."_

_Sly grinned at me as he walked around the corner and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "It would help if I knew what I had done wrong." Sly pulled me gently away the board and sat me down on the couch, his hands drifting from my arms to my shoulders where he started gently rubbing his fingers into my shoulder. "You could at least tell me where that outfit I'm wearing is, it looks snazzy." I felt my tension start to drain out with his words and a small churing sound escaped my throat as I fought the urge to just melt into the couch and his nimble fingers. I managed to form a response as the stress of the day left me. "Not on your life Cooper."_

_I let him continue for a few minutes before I shrugged him off, no matter how much I just wanted to go to sleep right there. "Not that I don't appreciate the shoulder rub. But I got to say, for somebody who called in sick today..." I trailed off, glaring at him playfully._

"_Yes, well." Sly rubbed the back of his head. "I may have exaggerated my symptoms a bit."_

_I raised my eyebrow at him. "Just a bit? You made it sound like you were dieing this morning."_

_Sly just grinned as he flung his hands out. "What can I say, I'm a great actor."_

_I frowned and blinked, something about the way he said it. "And that was the only time you put on an act with me right?"_

_Sly bowed "Of course Senorita, I would never lie to you." Sly straightened and tapped his head with a finger. "Not that I could remember if it happened more then eight months ago." His normal grin grew a little wider as he stared at me. "Although I can't really complain about the last four months."_

_I shook my head as I stood up and stretched. "Free back and shoulder rubs whenever I want? A cute roommate who does his fair share of the housework? I don't think I can complain about the last four months either." I reached for the clasp on my belt and undid it, slinging it over my shoulder as I walked into our room. I felt a grin creep up on my lips as my eyes ran over the line of big thick pillow across the middle of my bed. When Sly had first moved in eight months ago, he had slept on the couch, until one morning four months ago, I had woken to find him asleep on the floor of my room._

_After he had woken up from my shock blast he had explained how he had felt more comfortable with me in the room. How being there helped him relax, not that I bought that for a minute. But he was persistent, so I had let him sleep on a cot, a noisy cot, that squeaked whenever he moved. I think that had been part of a master plan to end up sharing the bed with me. My room wasn't big enough to upgrade the size of the bed, like his first option, or to get two separate beds, which was his second option. So I got around it by putting up the little barrier of pillows on my current one. A little childishness to combat his own, so far it seemed to be working. Plus it allowed me to still share a bed with him, and if things went well and Sly really didn't remember, perhaps in a few months it could come down._

_I put my weapon in its rack on the wall and sat down on the bed, pulling my boots off. I kicked the door closed as I pulled off my coat and shirt and pulled on a loose sleeping gown, slipping out of my pants and sliding underneath the covers. A few moments later, as if he was waiting, the door opened and Sly walked in. He paused at the foot of the bed and tapped the pillows. "I don't suppose..."_

_I pulled the comforter over my head and wrapped my tail around my chest, pulling it tight against me, a grin forming on my mouth. "No Sly."_

_Sly sighed and ran a hand over my leg. "Sly now? What happened to Constable Cooper?"_

_I faked a yawn. "Too tired to care right now. Go to bed or I'll lock you out again and you can sleep on the couch."_

_Sly sighed again, and moved around the bed, a moment later I felt the mattress shift as he sat down. I waited until he laid down, then I waited a few more minutes for his breathing to deepen before I rolled over gently and moved the pillow that kept our heads separated. The moonlight was shining through a crack in my blinds and shining over his face. I chewed my lip slightly before I moved forward slowly and gently pressed my muzzle against the side of his. I backed away a moment later. "Good night Sly." I said softly as I closed my eyes, the pillow still in my hands._

_I opened them what felt like a moment later and blinked as I failed to find Sly. I sat up and glanced around the room, my instincts screaming at me to wake up and pay attention. I snapped my head to the side to see the open window, that split second glance all it took to have me throwing off the comforter and dashing to the window and staring out at the street. A movement on the roof across from me caught my attention and I saw Sly standing on the top of the building. His back was too me and his cane was in his hand. I thought I saw him glance behind one time before he walked off. I stayed that way, staring, waiting for him to come back into sight. Eventually the sun made its way into the sky, and as the first rays of light touched my eyes, I blinked and I felt a tear slid into my fur. _

_My voice was deathly quiet with hurt as I spoke into the crisp air. "Sly...How could you?"_

* * *

Carmelita opened her eyes slowly and yawned as she stretched under the covers. She blinked as she sat up, holding the covers to her chest and tried to remember what happened last night. She realized that she was still dressed in the clothes she had been wearing the day before, and then remembered that she had called Cooper on his headset, and that he had come over to talk, but after that, there was just a blank. It was as this point that she started looking around the room, something causing her to pay attention and really look.

The first thing was the hand crafted box that held her fathers shock pistol was laying out on her dresser instead of being tucked away inside her closet. Then the quiet of the morning sunk in, there should have been other sounds, her neighbors in the surrounding apartments, and the sound of her lower floor neighbor blasting his music as he went about his day.

Carmelita frowned and slid out of bed, she glanced at her closet before forgoing looking for a change of clothes. Instead she headed to her dresser and opened the gun box, taking her Fathers slightly heavier shock pistol in a stable two handed grip and moving towards the door. She checked the charge on the weapon and realized she only had enough charge for one really good shot. She glanced around the room once more and realized that it was actually bigger then before, subtle changes had been made to make her think it was the same size. Somebody was trying to fool her, and only one person came to mind. She reached for the door knob as she growled his name under her breath. "Cooper..."

She opened the door quietly and glanced down the hallway outside before she moved out with the shock pistol held in a ready position trying to figure out where she was. She took in her surroundings as she moved down the carpeted hallways. The more she saw, the more she felt like she was in a hotel somewhere. Was she even in Paris anymore? For that matter, how did she get here? Putting those questions aside, she focused on the three things she knew. Cooper was behind this, he would be somewhere near by, and when she found him she was going to beat his ringed tail so hard that he would be begging her to arrest him just to put some bars between them.

Carmelita grinned slightly to herself in the low light of the hallway as she imagined the various ways she was going to get Cooper back for this. As she rounded a corner, her ear perked, causing the hair on the top of her head to sway gently. She paused and listened again for the sound. She narrowed her eyes as she moved down the hallway towards an open door with light shining through into the hallway. Carmelita moved to stand next to the doorway and peeked her head around the corner. Inside was what looked like a living room of sorts. Against the far wall in between two boarded up windows sat a large TV.

The TV was currently powered on and what looked like some sort of furless female was chasing after a male carrying a large bag, shooting what looked like a shock pistol at him. There was no sound from the TV but she could hear voices talking. She ran her eyes to the couch with its back facing the doorway, she could make out the large shape of the Hippo, what was his name...Murray, sitting on the couch. Carmelita moved a few steps into the room and leveled her weapon at the back of Murray's head.

"You have three seconds to tell me where I am or I'll knock you into next month."

Murray gulped as he heard the whine as the pistol charged up its shot. Carmelita's ear twitched as she heard Bentleys voice groan. "Oh...I told you this would happen. Why did you leave that gun in there Sly?"

"Trust me Bentley, it was better that she had an obvious choice then improvising something."

Carmelita narrowed her eyes at Sly's voice, only to have them widen when she realized it was coming from _behind _her. It was then that her eyes tracked the cord for the controllers to the computer that was connected to the TV. One led to the controller in Murrays currently shaking hand and the other snaked up over the couch and dangled over her head to where Sly held his controller loosely in one hand while he stared down at her from his perch above the door.

Sly was wearing his usual smug grin as he watched her, his feet wrapped around the small point from the bar that was mounted to the wall. He was dressed in the clothes that he had come to see her in last night. "Glad to see you awake so soon. Bentley was afraid you would sleep all night too."

Carmelita aimed her shock pistol up at Sly. "Sleep? What did you do to me Cooper?! Where am I?!"

Sly held his hands up loosely, still grinning at her. "Hey, you can't blame me for the tea, that was Bentley's condition." Bentley squawked out a protest, which Sly ignored as he continued "As for where you are...well..." Sly dropped down off the bar and bowed low as he landed on the ground in front of Carmelita. "I'm just doing what you asked me, welcome to Casa de Cooper."

Carmelita kept her pistol leveled at Sly's face. "What are you talking about Cooper? What Tea? Why did you kidnap me?"

Sly leaned around her shock pistol to glance at the couch where Bentley had his head poked over the top of his wheelchair. "Uh Bentley, what exactly was in the tea you had me give her?"

Bentley made a slashing motion with his hand across his throat. "Stop saying that Sly, as for whats wrong with her I think shes having a averse reaction to the dosage. It sometimes can cause short term memory loss."

Sly moved his head back as Carmelita jammed the barrel under his chin with a murderous look in her eyes. "It'll wear off though right?"

Bentley gulped as Carmelita turned her head slightly to glare at him as well. "Uh, yes, most likely. In a few hours..." Bentley gulped again. "Or days." Carmelita blinked at his words before she sighed and lowered the shock pistol, taking a few steps back to collapse against the back of the couch, all the energy seeming to drain out of her body in one moment as she stared at the floor. "Cooper...Take me home."

Sly frowned and glanced at Murray and Bentley, who both shrugged. Carmelita caught onto the heavy silence and lifted her gaze to glance at the three of them. "What, whats wrong?"

Sly took a step forward "Carmelita, you asked to come live with me last night. This is your home."

Carmelita blinked and straightened on the couch. "No, I would never do that."

Sly crossed his arms and stared at her. "You're sure about that?"

Carmelita frowned and pushed off the couch, she took a step forward and pointed her finger in Slys face. "Don't talk to me like that Cooper, you have no right."

Sly moved his head back from her finger, lifting his own to push her arm gently down. "Even if I'm right?"

Carmelita opened her mouth to deny it but instead she just leaned back against the couch once more. "The thought may have crossed my mind." She crossed her arms and turned her head away from him. "Not that I would ever do something like that. Not after what you did to me."

Sly rolled his eyes. "But the fact still stands that you did Carmelita." Sly paused "I told you before that I know there is nothing that I can do to apologize for what I did to you. We both know that, but I also told you I would never stop caring about you, and I left you to protect you."

Carmelita rolled her own eyes as she glared at Sly again. "Don't give me that line, you know damn well that I can protect myself."

Sly shrugged his shoulders "I'll never deny that you can protect yourself, but some things you cant fight, this was something that I had to do, and trust me, it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life." Sly sighed and dropped his arms, he held out one hand to Carmelita. "Look, lets take a walk and I'll explain everything."

Carmelita glanced down at his outstretched paw with distrust. "Come on Carmelita, what do you have to lose?"

Carmelita sighed and tentatively put her hand in his. "Apparently nothing."

Sly nodded at Bentley and Murray before he led Carmelita out the door. "Think we could stop by your room and put your fathers gun back first?"

After a quick stop by Carmelita's room, Sly quickly led the fiery vixen through a series of short halls to a stairway as he told her of the events of the previous night. When they reached the stairwell, he led her up the three flights of stairs to a heavy metal door that Sly unlocked before he pushed it open. He stepped out into the bright sunlight and Carmelita followed him, a paw across her eyes to stave off the bright light.

"So you basically made me vanish off the face of the earth. Why would you do something like...that..." Carmelita trailed off as her eyes took in the city view before her. She still didn't know where they were, but she could tell that they were on the outskirts of Paris, and the rooftop offered the most spectacular view she could ever remember seeing. The setting sun was sitting just behind the Eiffel tower, throwing the tall structure and the rest of Paris into a sharp relief that would never be able to be captured by camera. The shadows stretching across the roads around them as the moving lights of cars made their way home for the night, all of it dominated by the mirror image of the towers shadow. "...Wow..."

Sly glanced over his shoulder at her, his grin as wide as ever, he turned to her and spread his arms out. "This is why I would do something like that. To give you this." He turned back to the city. "This is freedom Carmelita, well and true, being able to see this every morning and night, and it never gets old. You can do whatever you want with your life now." Sly dropped his arms and turned back to her, closing the distance and taking her paws in his. He lifted them up and kissed them softly. "I can never fix what I did, not really. But I can try my hardest to make sure you life is what you want it." Sly pulled her close and draped an arm over her shoulders, he gestured out to the cityscape before them again. "Right now, Carmelita Fox can do whatever she wants, nobody will be able to judge her and for once, shes in control, true control of her life."

Sly turned her to face him, his arms locked gently around her back as his face turned serious. "My gift to you is a choice Carmelita. You can do whatever you want, go where ever you want, and I'll see it done. If you still want to be in law enforcement, I'll do my best to get that set up somewhere else, or..." Sly trailed off and brought his hands down to Carmelita's again. He cupped them in his own. "We got a chance to get to know each other in the helicopter ride after we finally beat Clockwork. You could stay here with me, and get a chance to get to truly know me, in a way only a few other people know." Sly lips twitched in a small smile. "I think you could get to enjoy life here with me, no lies, no acting, just you and me."

Carmelita glanced down at their paws before meeting his gaze. "And Murray, Bentley, and Penelope too."

Sly smiled. "Them too." He leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "The choice is yours Carm. Whatever you want." Sly took a step back, releasing his hold on her hands. "Think about what you really want Carmelita." Sly glanced at the stairway "I'll stand by you one hundred percent." Sly made his way to the stairway, taking a step into the open doorway, he glanced one last time at Carmelita who was still staring out at the cityscape before he sighed and headed for the stairs.

Carmelita inhaled the fresh air as she closed her eyes, when she opened them she glanced at the fire escape on the side of the room, she took a step towards it before she paused and glanced down at her cupped hands. She opened them and stared at the small piece of paper that Sly had slipped into her hands

It was a decorated piece of paper much like Sly's calling card, but this one had a red mask instead with a little black pony tail running down the back in a flap that would serve as the stand. Carmelita glanced at the card then up at the fire escape before turning her gaze back to the stairwell entrance. All of her life she knew what she wanted to be, but now that had been yanked from her and she felt torn at the decision she had in front of her. Try to return to her life as officer, stay with Sly, or...just leave. She glanced back out at the cityscape. "Just like that, change everything I've know about my life? How could you do this to me Sly?" She sighed and sat down on the roof.

* * *

"Come on Jack, we should take her now, get rid of them one at a time. It'll be easier then taking them out in one go."

"Patience Sheila, quit acting like a narkie. We didn't come all this way to just blow our cover right as we found out where they lived." The tiger's tail twitched as he watched the vixen through his binoculars. "Your sure this is their place Martina? It's not some sort of safe house that they can ditch at the first sign of trouble?"

The other tiger on the rooftop scoffed as she held a small notebook computer in one hand. "I'm sure Jackson. That turtle may think hes the only, how would you put it, ridgy-didge, in the tech world, but he ain't seen nothing like me yet. He's tried hard to mask his signal and power draw, but he can't fool me."

Jackson glanced at Martina, his twin swords swinging gently from their harness. "Don't pretend you know how an Aussie talks Martina, just do your job."

Martina rolled her eyes as Sheila stepped off the lip of the roof they were on to land back on the gravel rooftop. The leopardess took a few steps away her tail twitching through the air in agitation. "I'm not a narkie by the way Jack, you know that, I'm just hungry, that's all."

Jack shook his head as he turned his binoculars back to the adjacent rooftop. "We'll get you something to eat on the way back to our hideout. We're just here while we wait for Leo to finish fixing the donk in the van."

Shelia extended her claws as she ran her gaze over the rooftop. "Or I could just eat now."

Both Jackson and Martina turned around as a new voice echoed over the rooftop.

"Hey, you three can't be up here." A muscled doberman was working his away across the rooftop, a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other.

Jackson glanced at Martina before turning back to his binoculars. Martina slid the notebook computer into a pouch on her hip, she stepped off to stand next to Shelia while reaching to adjust her belt, she shook her loose white sleeves over her hand as she moved forward to meet the guard, Sheila walking along aside her. "Hello there." she called out in a slightly airy voice. "We have a permit to be up here, you see were looking at buying some of the land from the city here." she held out her hand. "I'm Amanda Duane, and this is my partner Danielle Dupree. We're up and coming architects trying to make our marks, and we know that we both want that mark to be here in Paris."

The guard paused before he shook her outstretched hand. "While that may be true, I'm still going to need to see some paper work or-" The security guard cut off as he jerked his hand back from hers "Ouch."

Martina jerked her own arm back and quickly flashed her hand near her pocket, before pretending to examine her wrist. "Oh sorry, I think you got cut on a loose piece of my watch."

The doberman rubbed the small cut before turning his gaze back to Martina. "Its not a problem Ms. Duane, but I'm still going to need to see some paperwork."

Martina nodded, all smiles. "Not a problem, my body guard Geard over there has everything you'll need."

The doberman nodded. "Bodyguard eh, guess that explains the swords." The doberman headed towards Jackson, as he passed Martina, her fake smile slowly slid into a sly and wicked one, it wasn't long before her ears twitched as the guard stumbled and fell.

"Whats..."

Martina and Sheila both turned back towards Jackson and walked towards him as he continued to stare through the binoculars. The doberman gasping softly as they passed him by. The two girls stood behind Jackson as the sun continued to set. Eventually the doberman grew still, it was at this time as the fates would have it that Carmelita stood up on her rooftop and made her way to the stairwell.

Jackson stepped back from the lip and the three of them turned towards the fire escape of the far side of the roof. As they passed the dobermans still form Sheila eyed it, she paused only to continue walking when Martina spoke up. "Do it and you die the same way. Try to at least act normal around us, its bad enough what you do. I would really rather not have to witness it."

Sheila grinned at the tiger "What's the matter Martina? Scared that you might enjoy it?"

Jackson hushed them both with a wave of his paw as they started their descent to the street below them.

* * *

_**Right, so I mentioned bad news, its not bad, so much as sad and depressing, at least to me. I should have updated this story a while ago, but the last month has been emotionally hard on me. It started with the death of my dog, I can not even begin to express how much Faust meant to me, and when he died, I was torn, Faust was my dog, my friend, and my brother, he was also a bit of a muse, and without him, well, writing was really hard. Just when I started to try and write something again, my dad got life flighted to the nearby hospital because of a heart attack. Needless to say, this also destroyed my groove, thankfully my dad is fine and back to his normal self, but still, the past month has not been kind to me or mine. To that end, I'm not sure my writing has been as good as I usually strive for, so apologies for that.**_

_**Right, well with the lack of updates and the poor writing explained, I hope you all enjoyed the story so far, next chapter I introduce the final major oc's who plays a part in the main plot. Then we start really getting into the thick of it. So, just a real quick note, you may have noticed I added some Aussie words to Jack and Sheilas speech. I took these words from a site that claimed to be a collection of slang from down under. If I butchered any of the words and any readers from the nation are offended, please, leave a review, or PM me and tell me how to fix them, otherwise, here's the meanings from the site for you below, and how I was using them.**_

_**Narkie- Hot Headed**_

_**Donk- Engine**_

_**Ridgy-didge- One of a Kind**_

_**So before you click that review button and tell me what you thought, its time for guest reviews! As a quick note there, I did not respond to those who didn't create some sort of name for the review, I just didn't want to have Guest1, Guest2, and so on.**_

_**C.J. Young: Well, there you have it, she woke up, and much threatening ensued, As for that first bit, I'll reveal more on that, you know, later. : P **_

_**Apandagirl: I'm glad you enjoying the story, and I love Sly and Carmelita as a couple as well.**_

_**Miriam: Sly does trust her, as I hinted here, it was Bentley who insisted on the drug. He may love Carmelita, but he couldn't just walk her into his hideout all how do you do. I'm glad you enjoying and hopefully I'll keep the work good.**_

_**Carmelita Fox: Glad you're enjoying and hopefully you'll know more soon. : P**_

_**Ghostkid33: Well, she wasn't happy, and it looks like Sly has another plan in motion, I wonder what it could be...**_

_**HeartSeeker: I'm glad you're enjoying, and I thought the first part in chapter 1 was pretty great too. I'm really glad to hear you say that, thats my biggest fear you know, that I won't keep them enough in character to be believable, in fact, that's a big fear for this chapter as well. I know I didn't keep it as much on Carmelita this chapter, but I just had to introduce some of the other characters, you know plot and all that.**_

_**Thank you, all of you for you reviews, remember, you guys and gals are what drives this story, so please, take some time to leave your thoughts, as you can see above, I respond to ALL the reviews I can. Remember, Reviews keep this story going! So click the review button and leave some thoughts, the more reviews the more focus I put on the story!  
**_

_**6-11-13: I'm sorry this story hasn't been updated in so long, I'm trying, really, its just, none of the ideas seem to flow together and mesh right, which leads to me scrapping what I'm working on. I will try and get an update out before I leave on a trip here in a few days though. Note, key word, Try.**_

_**Peace,**_

_**- Emile**_


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